Neasden skier awarded damages for accident

A YOUNG skier from Neasden who was left permanently scarred after an accident on the French slopes has been awarded compensation.

University student Conor O’Malley, now aged 23, was enjoying a holiday in Val Thorens in the Alps in December 2009 when he was hit from behind by an inexperienced Dutch skier who had lost control, sending him hurtling to the ground and knocking him unconscious.

In January this year he was awarded an out of court settlement of an undisclosed amount with the Dutch skier’s insurance company.

Travel law expert Nick Jackson at solicitors firm Irwin Mitchell, who represented Mr O’Malley, said: “Given the force of the impact, Conor was extremely fortunate that his injuries were not even more serious.

“However the fact remains that this young man has been left with a permanent scar as a result of another skier’s lack of proficiency on the slopes.

“The defendant’s insurers fully admitted liability for the incident and the settlement will hopefully allow Conor to move forward with his life.”

On the day of the incident, French paramedics rushed Mr O’Malley, who studied at the University of Bristol, to hospital where he was treated for concussion and a large wound to his back which had to be surgically closed with stitches and staples.

When he got back to the UK he discovered he had also fractured his left leg and he spent three months recovering from his injuries and undergoing physiotherapy.

Mr O’Malley, who has been left with a permanent scar on his back, passed his physiology degree and has now embarked on a four-year post graduate degree in medicine at St George’s University of London.

Mr O’Malley said: “One minute everything was fine and I was skiing down a well known stretch of piste and the next I was lying on the ground and paramedics were lifting me onto a stretcher.

“I am an experienced skier and I was aware of the snow conditions, had the correct equipment and had chosen a piste that suited my skiing ability.

“The Dutch skier may have been trying to avoid another skier who had got into difficulties and, in swerving to avoid that person, lost control and ploughed into me.

“I would advise anyone taking to the slopes to make sure that you always ski with others.

“I had stayed behind to fix a problem on one of my skis and my friends had gone on ahead of me, so I was by myself when the collision happened.

“I was very fortunate that others nearby stopped to help me but things may have ended very differently if no-one had been around to summon urgent medical assistance.”